Mont St Clair モンサンクレール is one of the top rated patisseries in Tokyo and it’s easy to see (or rather, taste) why. Other than Hidemi Sugino (my favourite place for mousse cakes), Mont St Clair’s cake is one of the lightest I’ve ever had. This one has both chocolate and vanilla cream, topped off with a crunchy brûléed layer. Now I’m curious about the other cakes this place has to offer…

Cassis in mont blanc? I tried one such combination from Patisserie Jun Ujita パティスリー ジュンウジタ and it was surprisingly good. Slightly tart berry flavour, sweet chestnut puree, moist almond frangipane-ish base, sweet tooth satisfied! Worth trying if you see his cakes popping up at Shinjuku Takashimaya food hall; otherwise his main patisserie is quite far out of the main Tokyo area and I’m not in a hurry to head there.

I don’t understand why Magie Du Chocolat マジ・ドゥ・ショコラ is so popular. There’s constantly a stream of people queuing and because I was sitting right next to the cashier, I could see how much those people were spending. Let’s just say they didn’t hesitate to fork out yen for chocolates. But I was not impressed with their 35% & 75% mixed chocolate soft serve, and the signature baked chocolate soufflé cakes (matcha so sweet omg). Average and very forgettable.

I plan all my meals. Like seriously, ALL. Impromptu is not in my vocabulary because life is too short for mediocre food. So I took a big risk (yes I exaggerate ha) when I stepped into Patisserie Cacahouete Paris パティスリー カカオエット・パリ as this was not on my to-go list. But I couldn’t resist when I saw so many locals queuing! Walked out with a crunchy chocolate cake with mango, a lovely pairing which I really like. Anyway, this place is apparently famous for their cubed cream puffs (there’s pistachio!), should I try that next hmm.

You can’t tell from the photo but I bought this cake specially for hanami (sakura viewing) at Ueno Park this afternoon hahaha. Even though the park was so crowded, I felt thankful as I enjoyed one of my all-time favourite cakes. I first tried this chocolate mont blanc from Chocolatier Palet D’or ショコラティエ パレ ド オール with K in Osaka late last year and it’s a no-brainer; if you like chocolate and if you like chestnut, you will like this! I definitely do.